Fans, check the timing screens! The name lighting up search engines this weekend is Max Verstappen. But when the crowd crossed the line on who is the greatest Formula One driver of all time, the chequered flag fell for Lewis Hamilton. The final verdict on the opinion market has Hamilton at 40% consensus, with Ayrton Senna second on 16%. The man everybody is googling finishes among the rest of the field.

Where the crowd stands
  • Lewis Hamilton40%
  • Ayrton Senna16%
  • Michael Schumacher15%
  • Max Verstappen15%
  • Juan Manuel Fangio14%

Why is Verstappen trending? It's the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend. According to ESPN, Verstappen and Liam Lawson were given a one-place grid penalty after colliding in Friday practice. Formula1.com reports that Verstappen qualified fourth, which becomes fifth on race day, and that afterwards he insisted, "We were fighting for pole for sure." The same Formula1.com page shows who did take pole: Hamilton. As we reported when this fight opened, Hamilton was already ahead early. Now that early lead has become the final result.

Here's how the race played out. When the chart starts (Nov 1), Hamilton stood at 20% and Senna at 20%. From there, Hamilton's backing moved between 20% and 40%, and he finished at 40% with Senna on 16%. Over less than a day, 13 traders put $3,871 behind their picks. The rest of the ballot was 3 other sides.

Consensus over time
0%25%50%75%100%1 Nov, 09:051 Nov, 09:46
  • Lewis Hamilton 39.6%
  • Ayrton Senna 16.4%
  • Michael Schumacher 15.4%
  • Max Verstappen 14.5%

The Verstappen camp did show up. As one backer, Brandon, put it: "common sense says this and common sense is undefeated lately." Not this time, Brandon. Here's my take, fans: Verstappen owns this weekend's headlines because of a grid penalty, but that's a separate race from this one. In the GOAT fight, the crowd backed Hamilton first and Senna second.

Keep in mind that the market was open for less than a day. Whether the next GOAT fight looks any different is up to the next crowd.